suggestions on home rentals in Italy and more?

Check out Tuscany Now and More for villas that meet your criteria, they have them, as do many others.

Carol,

I rented three apartments in Italy (Venice, Florence and Rome) a couple years ago. I rented all three using TripAdvisor because I liked the interface and search tools. However, while doing my research, I noticed that most of the apartments were listed in multiple portals (AirBNB, VRBO, HolidayLettings, HomeAway, etc.). So, it kind of boils down to the portal you like the best.

I would not recommend renting a car to explore from Rome (or anywhere else in Italy). Rome's historic center is very walkable and public transportation is also usable/helpful. With the widespread Limited Traffic Zones (ZTLs) in Italian cities, very limited parking, road tolls and widespread speed cameras, driving can be unexpectedly expensive. If you search this forum for "ZTL" or "Traffic Fines" you'll get the idea.

Good luck.

www.homeaway.com (or www.vrbo.com, same company so vrbo will redirect to it)
www.homelidays.com
www.casamundo.com
www.wimdu.com
For Agriturismo (farmhouses converted to villas):
www.agriturismo.com
www.agriturismo.it
www.agriturismo.net

The above are the probably the most used in Europe, but I am sure I forgot many others.

If you rent a car I recommend you do not stay in big cities like Rome or Florence, but rather look for a villa or Agriturismo out of town. There are severe traffic restrictions to non residents therefore when you visit those cities you need to park outside the city center in one of the many car parks then walk or take public transportation inside the city center.

Do you plan on cooking all your meals? And packing up your staples and moving them to your next location? Unless there are severe dietary reasons, I think it would be a shame not to have at least one meal a day out - food is culture, after all.

If there are dietary concerns, Italy is one of the easiest countries for accommodating food allergies.

You can find lots of apartments in cities at booking.com. Perhaps your family would prefer to be in a place that has some nighttime activity rather than be out in the countryside.

Zoe made a very important point. You might want to stay where the action is, rather than secluded in a country villa with just you and family.

While staying in a city, apartment or hotel, it is not advisable to rent a car.

Thank you everyone for your advice. This is all very helpful. I do appreciate you taking the time to respond to my request. Carol